


Code 121

by taemutuals



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Action, Alcohol, Angst, Bottom Jeon Jungkook, Bottom Kim Taehyung | V, Crimes & Criminals, Death, Drama, F/F, F/M, Gay Sex, Investigation, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mistery, Police, Romance, Top Jeon Jungkook, Violence, delegate yoongi, flex, mouring, refers to suicide, taekook, vkook, yoonmin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26845126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemutuals/pseuds/taemutuals
Summary: POLICE | ACTION | MYSTERY | DRAMATaehyung was considered very young for the success that he had reached in his career as an investigator of the Seuol police, and in his twenty-four years of life, there wasn't a time when he couldn't solve a crime.Now, three years later, his fame wasn't so unshakable, incapable of solving the most important case that he had received in his entire life:His sister's murder.He wouldn't give up, but the case was about to be filed, and if even the best investigator in Seuol couldn't solve it, who else could?With not only his reputation and pride at risk but his  heart as well, suddenly a young boy appears with so many answers for his investigation that makes Taehyung regret not giving up on case 121 before.Jeon Jungguk came with what seemed to be the solution, and also one of his problems.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue: Case Open

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Código 121 kth + jjk (taekook!)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/696712) by tkmutuals. 



> Hello, this is vanny, how are you?
> 
> Well, before you start reading this story, I want to leave some warnings to avoid possible disconfort during the reading.
> 
> This way, if something you don't like is mentioned, maybe this fic isn't for you.
> 
> Here we go:
> 
> This story is a translation from the original Portuguese version of Código 121, also posted and written by me. So don't worry, it's not plagiarism or something, it's just me reposting in another language.
> 
> *Those responsible for the translation are @lover_44, @LyviaStyles, @artaegikookz @DoadoradeHistorias all the credits for translating belongs to them.
> 
> 1- Kim jisoo is the protagonist. All the story is focused on her. 
> 
> 2- The fic is TAEKOOK, but Jisoo is the center of the story.
> 
> 3- If you came here to read Code 121 expecting a lot of romantic scenes or lemon this is not for you. But if you are just like me and love a mystery, getting involved in the plot and creating theories while you try to find out who the murderer is along with Taehyung, then you are in the right place!
> 
> 4- Taekook's relationship is build up in the most subtle way possible, so if you have the patience I promise that you will love the development of their relationship in the end. 
> 
> There will be lemon, and romantic scenes between them and other characters, but I'd like to remind you that their relationship is not the focus, but the investigation of case 121 instead.
> 
> 5- The fic has a lot of references to abuse, drugs, sex, suicide, depression, grief, physical and psychological aggression and deals with some delicate issues BUT NEVER ROMANTIZING THE SITUATION.
> 
> 6- This fic was an interactive one in the original version, and the readers chose a lot of the decisions that the characters would make, so I hope you understand their decisions in some chapters.
> 
> 7- Please, if you are reading this again DO NOT GIVE OUT SPOILERS or say who is the murderer in the comments.
> 
> 8- And last but not least:
> 
> Be welcomed to Code 121, and I hope this story can in some way make your days less boring.
> 
> Find out who Kim Jisoo's killer is, and fall in love with the detective Kim Taehyung and the dark-eyed boy.
> 
> Good reading~~

_**Suicide** _

_**1\. The act of killing yourself;** _

_**2\. Disgrace or ruin caused by the action of the own individual.** _

_**...** _

_**[April 23rd, 2016]** _

The cloudy sky indicated a heavy rain coming in a few hours. Taehyung looked through the window of the car one more time, annoyed with the reason that made him get out of bed at 6 a.m on a Sunday. 

  
  


He had just returned from his trip to England, and unfortunately, it hadn't been for fun and instead to help an old acquaintance to solve a case that the British weren't able to, even with all that technology.

  
  


Scotland needed to dismiss some people and hire more useful ones, he thought when in less then three days, he was on the meeting table with fancy men with their chin up in their well-groomed suits and showed them evidence enough to arrest the real thief of a precious jewel from a store with some big name. 

  
  


If they had money to invest in a stone like that, then they should hire more competent men to protect it, he said to the owner of the place after he returned the jewel together with his friend. 

A great waste of time, is how he resumes his last week with something that could be solved so quickly... It was annoying to see that a lot of people could achieve such high positions in the investigative police or the FBI and didn't even have the capacity to be there.

Probably because they give more points to papers filled with bullet holes than for the brainless bodies that managed those guns.

He let the car near to the campus of one of the most prestigious colleges of Seul and quickly put his beret with curved brim, angry that he didn't even have time to brush his hair when he was called with such hurry to the place to check a simple and irritant suicide. 

He didn't want to sound insensible but, unfortunately, the suicide rate in Korea was always very high and for someone who works in the capital's main office, he was used to hear the telephones ringing and reports that someone had jumped off the bridge onto the Han river or swallowef a lot of medicines.

It was a very small case to request him to leave his warm bed on a Saturday morning.

Taehyung asked them to send him pictures later but his friend and also boss, Min Yoongi, was resolute, forcing him to take his ass out of the soft bed - in the words of Min - and drive to the college building.

Kim sighed quietly one more time, putting his hands inside the jacket's pockets, tired of the trip and for not having slept very well through the night. 

He'd do anything to not be there, he even suggested Min take his intern Jimin in his place.

What could he do? He hated when he was woken up so early. He valued his ten hours of sleep - when he could have it, of course, unless a case interesting enough to make him replace his bed with a coffee showed up. 

He quickly passed through the campus sign with the name of the place, ignoring all of it and making his brain work good arguments to give to Yoongi after seeing the body. 

Anything to get rid of the work and go back to his penthouse flat.

Looking around one more time, the voices of several students sounded terrified, he could hear people crying and saying how gentle and funny the teenager was, and that they never thought that she would be able to kill herself.

Always the same thing.

But Taehyung doubted that all those people were friends with the girl who had the body waiting for obvious conclusions.

He showed the badge to one of the guards who was doing the patrol and surrounding the place, who raised the yellow ribbon and let him pass.

  
  


"She is my roommate!" he heard somebody screaming in tears and he looked at the blonde girl who was crying while hugging a redhead.

She was saying the truth, thought Taehyung after watching her for a few seconds. But he prefered to ignore that, after all he wouldn't need witnesses or reports to a suicide. 

He saw Yoongi close to three cops and pointing in the direction to a van with the logo from one of Korea's three largest television channels. This made Teehyung frown curious, because they wouldn't bother to transmit a suicide unless that the girl was the daughter of some politician or relative to some famous person. 

Wouldn't it be his first time giving an interview to speak about the case.

The eldest finds Kim quickly with his eyes and sighs, looking away and pushing a smaller guy that was by his side saying something to him. 

Jimin ran out in Taehyung's opposite direction, whom just gave a frustrated and bored look to Yoongi 

"Where is it?" asked without expressing a lot, he was tired and wanted to go home. All that noise of sirens, crying and screams were giving him a headache.

"You came!" answered smiling, and Taehyung arched an eyebrow faking disbelief.

"I had the option of not coming? Then I'm living!" He waved and turned around, but he was grabbed by his boss.

"Sorry, I'm nervous" said, scratching his nose, so Taehyung looked serious at him. Yoongi only does that when he wanted to lie to him, but it never worked because Taehyung always found out that he is lying.

"Why?"

"I-I'm so sorry, TaeTae" his voice was sweeter and Taehyung got confused with the sudden change of his tone plus the use of his nickname in a place like that.

Then he began to understand. 

His tiredness and indifference stopping him from seeing the situation around him. He knew that place...That's why he found the female dormitory that easily without even asking for information.

Taehyung stopped and looked at the girl because he knew her voice, he had seen her before, in a photo maybe?

The media was there because the person could be related to someone famous and Kim Taehyung had a well-known name, and Yoongi would never ask him to go to the crime scene, he never needed to solve a case that much.

It was like his brain had received an electrical discharge that woke his whole body. He fixed his posture and seriously looked at Yoongi.

"Show me the body"

Min didn't contest, only walked among the police, giving orders to the others to keep the reporters and their cameras as far as possible. They were there for Taehyung. 

He wished he was wrong. 

He never wished so much to be mistaken in his deductions as now, walking behind Yoongi until they stopped in front of the body of whom he already expected to see. 

His sister, Kim Jisoo. 

Her pale skin looking paler, her black hair covering her face and her thin little body covered with a yellow floral dress, partly covered by a big purple jacket. 

The angle of her arms and legs were discomforting, and normally Taehyung would analyze every detail with the highest concentration and precision in the world, but he couldn't do that anymore, not at that moment. 

All the best moments that he had with his younger sister keep coming back to his mind, making him stumble back. He was trying to contain the tears that were threatening to fall with such force that he could feel his throat burn. 

"Tae…" Yoongi whispered, holding him by the arms and offering a glass of water that Jimin had given to him "They told me to call another person but I know that you would want to do this". 

Kim just stood there, staring at his sister's dead body. That wasn't right. 

His little sister would never do that, she wasn't like that, she had no reason to do so, she would never jump like that from the sixth floor where her room was and take her life.

She didn't do it, it couldn't be real.

"If you don't want to do this I can go and take care of the report of the suicide and…"

"She didn't do it" he rudely said. 

"I understand that this is too much for you right now, but…"

"No! Yoongi, I'm saying that she would never do something like this, my sweet Choo wouldn't take her own life. Damn Yoongi you knew her!"

Min didn't say anything, he was speechless. Didn't want to fight with Kim in front of so many people.

"Give me a minute" Taehyung asked, looking carefully at the lawn around, ignoring the blood and bypassing the whole building. 

Yoongi didn't contest his request, and immediately ordered the police to open the door that gave access to the dorms and allowed him to enter any room there.

They had a warrant - that was sent almost immediately after they recognised who the girl was the sister to, and how he would react to the news - Taehyung never paid much attention to some of the rules, he would enter any room he deemed necessary, especially in the present situation.

Jimin ran behind him but Taehyung just told him to go back and wait, he didn't want to hear the chatter of the intern. 

"Before you go" he shouted reaching his hand for Jimin "Do you have any coins?".

Park got confused and curious about the request from Kim, but agreed, pulling a bunch of coins from his pocket.

"Thank you" he said before using the stairs to go to the first floor.

Taehyung didn't say anything to the guards who accompanied him in silence, he only entered three rooms on that floor, which provided the vision to the place where his sister was and opened every window, throwing a coin. In silence, he repeated the same process on every floor. 

After he finally reached his sister's room, which was intact and well organized how it always was and with the lights on, Taehyung did the same process. It was clear that she had fallen from that window.

"Anybody from your team touched or moved something in this room or the others?" the policemen quickly denied, so Taehyung just left the place in silence, leaving them confused. 

Yoongi was with Jimin, watching his friend with curiosity and irritation, like he always does when Kim starts with his games.

"Be sure to send me all the photos of the case" said Taehyung, taking out his beret that seemed to be hurting his head "It's mine". 

"Case? Taehyung it was a suicide, there isn't anything to be investigated here"

"It wasn't a suicide, it was a murder. Somebody killed my sister".

"What?"

"I'm also going to wait for the medical report and the information that the experts find".

"What the hell are you saying?"

Taehyung rubbed his eyes, tired and frustrated with the lack of comprehension from Yoongi on something so simple.

"It was a homicide and I want this case. Do I really need to repeat it?"

"First you need to explain to me how in the hell you've come to this conclusion!"

Taehyung just rolled his eyes, stopping near his sister's dead body.

"None of the windows were open. If she jumped, who closed them?"


	2. Filed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back, hehe
> 
> I Hope you enjoy this episode!
> 
> Favorite and comment, please >.<
> 
> P.S: Those responsible for the translation are 2wams44 @LyviaStyles, @artaegikookz @DoadoradeHistorias all the credits for translating belongs to them

"Sir" Jimin called Taehyung again, he needed to go to the meeting room where Yoongi was waiting for him "I'm sorry, but you really need to attend it".

Taehyung sighed in frustration. He knew what they wanted with that meeting, they have been breathing down his neck for a long time about that.

Two years and ten months have passed since he had gone to the KU campus and had seen his sister's inert body on the lawn.

The investigations were going nowhere.

Everyday the newspapers forgot the case a little bit more, and they thought that, as the victim's brother, not even Kim was able to solve something so simple.

The media and the population rather believe that she had killed herself, and Taehyung was just a brother who couldn't accept the facts. 

But he knew. He knew that this wasn't true.

The investigative facts, like the details of the room, the forensic report, and not even the experts were enough to keep this case open for longer. 

They wanted to file the case, and put his sister's picture in a drawer under lock and key. As if it never existed, as if it wasn't important.

Taehyung got up and picked up his cellphone from the desk, sending a text to his best friend informing him that he might be late to meet him after work. 

Hoseok always tried to cheer him up when situations like this arose. Whenever they tried to file the case, Taehyung managed to extend it for longer, but he was no longer sure if he was able to do it again.

He asked Jimin to gather the paperwork and lock the room as soon as he got out, and the intern agreed instantaneously, waiving and sending good vibes to the Investigator.

Taehyung didn't knock and didn't excuse himself, just sat at the table next to Yoongi, ignoring the looks of contempt his superiors sent him. 

Everyone there should be grateful for having him in the team, he thought. Without him, half of the cases would still be open, molding in their rough wooden tables waiting for a solution they could never get. 

"The Congress decided that there are no more reasons to continue with this, Taehyung" Yoongi began, since everyone seemed afraid to address Kim, even though they were his superiors.

The truth was they still feared the Investigator fame. Even with the failure of not being able to solve the 'case 121', he still accepted and participated in others, solving them with command and uniqueness.

His popularity brought a power no one in there could stand up to.

They hoped that he would fail, if only his sister's case would be declared closed, Taehyung's popularity would decrease drastically and he would no longer be a threat. So they could get rid of it, and get personal promotions instead of losing all the opportunities to Kim.

They were jealous and Taehyung knew it. And honestly, he didn't care.

"I'm on the right direction" Kim answered, feeling his head aching once again, the lack of sleep always mistreating him "I just need more time".

"Three years have passed" one of the present men said, attracting Taehyung's gaze, the man shrinked in his chair, regretting having said something. 

"Two years and ten months" he said harshly "precisely".

"Taehyung, I want to help you, I really do" Yoongi took the floor again "but it's been a long time. I'm your boss here but I still serve the Estate, and my superiors are pushing me to do this. We'll have to file the case".

"You can't!" the blonde stood up, feeling his blood boil, and everyone's eyes widened. 

Never, at any time, Taehyung had lost his posture in front of people. He never cried in front of anyone after the news.

His bathroom was his best friend, the shower water having consoled him for more than two hours of tears.

He loved his sister too much to accept that something like that was left aside.

Jisoo didn't deserve that. She deserved justice and Taehyung would bring it to her memory.

"One week" he asked. "I'll get some evidence good enough to keep the investigations going, you owe me this, for everything I've done for you" he didn't like to charge or boast, but he needed to do it this time.

"It's a long time" Yoongi answered, he himself had a deadline with his superiors, there was not much to be done. "I can give you forty-eight hours, nothing more than that".

"Deal!" replied Kim, bowing only to Min and leaving the room quickly, his heart pounding.

∆

"Are you sure you want to continue with this?" Hoseok asked after serving some more wine to his best friend.

"I do" Taehyung answered, his dark eyes glowing from the crackling flames of the fireplace lit right next to him.

They were sitting on the carpet of Taehyung's office. It was Friday and they both just wanted to unwind.

"I don't think it's healthy for you to stay focused on something like that for so long, Taehy" said his friend, turning all the liquid on his lips at once. "You don't even sleep properly".

"I only have forty-eight hours" he answered, extending the empty glass one more time to his friend, who filled it with no ceremony "I need good enough proof to keep this case open".

"You didn't get anything in all those months, how do you intend to get it now?" the redhead lay down, leaning his face on his hand and his elbows on the floor.

"I don't know yet" he sighed in frustration. 

He intended to spend the whole dawn reading and rereading the notes he had taken, observing the pictures and listening to the audios of the statement of the students he had investigated, he only needed a small clue.

"Well..." Hoseok sat down again, getting close enough to Kim for their bodies to be almost glued together, but not in a way that made them feel attracted, they didn't see each other in that way. They were just two close friends making contacts like that. "I wish you good luck". The redhead stood up and gulped down the rest of the liquid from the wine bottle.

It was the second bottle of the night, but they weren't completely drunk, just somewhat numb.

Taehyung got up with his friend and passed his arm around his waist, helping him walk to the elevator, informing him that the cab was already waiting for him down by the hall and that the next morning he would return his car.

Hoseok agreed and waved, leaving.

Taehyung fell in bed – with his work clothes still on – and fell asleep, leaving aside all his plan to stay up all night analysing the investigation's papers. 

...

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" Kim got up, cursing at himself mentally while looking for his clothes in his messy closet.

After taking a hurried shower and dressing property, Taehyung stopped in front of his desk clock and cursed at himself once again.

It was Saturday. There was no need to get up so early in the morning, and in such a hurry.

Angry and hungry, he grabbed the papers that contained some information from the investigation and took his wallet, leaving the apartment starving and stressed.

Kim Taehyung was the devil himself when he woke up early, when he got hungry, or when he couldn't solve something.

And in that morning he was going through all of the three situations. 

So soon he entered the coffeeshop in front of his apartment, angry even with the bells ringing above the door. Taehyung grumbled and chose the farthest table from the place, with the menu in hands, although he already knew what he would order.

"Good morning, Sir!" A sweet voice overpowered his ears, and Taehyung didn't want to bother raising his eyes. So he just waved his head, and removed his resting glasses from his face.

"I want black coffee" Said with no enthusiasm. He still hated that drink, but it was more useful than tea, and he needed to recover the lost hours he spent sleeping. "With two sugar cubes".

"Just that sir?" the owner of the voice answered and Taehyung agreed "Are you sure?".

What the fuck?, he thought.

Of course he was sure, how could he not be sure about what he wanted?

He hated stupid questions.

"Do I look doubtful to you?" He furrowed his eyebrows and raised his eyes, irritated.

Before answering, the young man opened a sweet smile and nodded without looking affected or scared by the tone of Kim's voice.

"Actually, you do" he smiled lopsided and Taehyung couldn't help but notice how handsome the boy was. "May I suggest something to you?"

Taehyung was going to say no, after all what he wanted wasn't on the menu. 

Answers.

"I don't think you have what I need."

"Let me surprise you then" the brunette blinked an eye, his soft voice and side smile leaving Kim more relaxed.

Although he knew that behaviour was all rehearsed, and the boy was just being kind because his job demanded it.

"Okay" Kim shrugged his shoulders and the employee left, taking Taehyung's eyes with him, who without any shame analyzed his entire body.

He wasn't just a pretty face, after all.

"What a beautiful pair of legs", Taehyung's thoughts sabotaged him and he laughed at himself turning his attention now to the papers on the table.

He was analysing one of the pictures of the college where his sister was studying when he felt the strong aroma of coffee overpowering his nostrils. He raised his eyes, finding the boy even closer to him. His body skirted over the table putting in front of him a cup of coffee and two pieces of what he thought was brownie.

But Taehyung was too busy analyzing the veins jumping out of the employee’s arms, the sleeves of the white button down shirt folded to the elbows. 

“Enjoy your meal" he said in a whisper making Kim finally look at the brownies with attention.

He felt his heart stop beating. The brownies had smiling faces made with whipped cream. What would be incredibly lovely if it didn't remind him of Jisoo.

Everytime the girl visited her brother and cooked for him, she made faces on her brownies. He could still remember her saying she did it just for him, because when they were children their mom could only convince Taehyung to eat if the food had faces like that.

"What's that?" He asked, feeling his heart hurt.

He missed his sister very much.

"Brownies, Sir." 

"I know, but why is that? I'm not a child."

"I don't do the dishes, Sir. I just serve it"

"Who did it then?" 

"The baker, I suppose" the young man frowned, confused that Taehyung was so irritated just because of a face made with whipped cream.

Taehyung didn't say anything. It was just a coincidence, he himself remembered the times he saw cakes and pies with faces and shapes in that place. There was no need to feel so irritated, it was just a coincidence that unfortunately just increased the pain he was feeling.

"I'm sorry" the boy sat down in front of him. It wasn't very busy at the establishment at that time, even on a Saturday "Are you allergic? Did I do something wrong?"

"No! It's okay. Thanks, kid".

The employee side smiled once more, looking relieved, and while getting up he glued his eyes on Taehyung's papers on the table.

"What's that?" The curiosity was obvious in his voice, but Taehyung was no fool and knew that he already had a notion of what it could be.

"Paperwork" he answered, evasive. 

"You're working on a Saturday?" He smiled incredulously, and Taehyung bowed his head smiling perversely back at him.

"I wouldn't say that if I was you, you're doing the same thing" he blinked and the brunette smiled quickly showing a dimple on his left cheek, which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"But I imagine you don't need to do that" he sat down again after looking around. "What do you do?"

"I work at a police station" he answered once again without giving him more information.

Taehyung found it funny that the boy didn't recognize him, his face was always printed on the newspapers, after all.

"Are you a cop?" He asked, his eyes glowing in an inquisitive way, making Taehyung feel even more curious. 

Years working in that place taught him to read people's body movements, and that boy knew he wasn't a policeman and yet asked.

"Almost that" he answered once more.

"Police chief?" 

"Far from it." 

"Do you even have a gun?"

"Yes" he answered seriously, not knowing exactly why he had answered so quickly.

"What are you anyway?"

"I'm an Investigator" he shrugged his shoulders, drinking the coffee and closing his eyes in approval. The coffee was exactly the way he liked, or could tolerate it.

"Cool! I knew I recognised you from somewhere" he said happily, and Taehyung looked at him without any surprise.

"Did you see me on TV?"

"In a magazine, actually."

"I see..." The magazine's didn't use to say very good things about Kim.

"And this case, what is it about?" 

"Murder."

"Who is the killer? Have you figured that out yet?"

Taehyung lifted his head and stared at the big round eyes in front of him.

"Not yet."

"And are you close to figuring it out?"

"Sort of" he wouldn't get into details about a private investigation with a coffeeshop's employee. Taehyung wasn't an idiot.

"Got it. Good luck then."

"Thanks" Kim answered, covering the papers with the menu, and focusing on eating all the pieces of brownie in front of him.

∆

The day passed peacefully after Taehyung returned to his apartment, even though he made absolutely no progress.

It was almost 6 a.m. when he allowed himself to get some rest, knowing that from there fifteen hours he should bring some good enough proof for Yoongi.

He woke up at 10 a.m. and returned to his routine. He only realised it was 8 p.m. when his cell phone vibrated with the name 'Hobi' on the screen.

[7:44pm] Hobi:  
"Go have dinner"

[7:44pm] Taehyung:  
"I'm busy"

[7:45pm] Hobi:  
"I know that. That's why I'm reminding you to take a break and feed yourself."

He was too tired to argue with his best friend, so he just grabbed the hat he had next to him and left his apartment.

Taehyung sometimes forgot that at night the coffeeshop became a noisy and busy pub, where young people drank and had fun at the tables outside.

The rectangular sign on the sidewalk showed the menu of that night and Taehyung felt his stomach jump with joy as he read that it was one of his favourite dishes. 

He would have to deal with the noise, but his laziness of driving in search of a good and silent restaurant beat him. He just ran across the street ignoring the honking cars.

"Good evening! How can I help" a female voice emerged as soon as Taehyung sat in the corner of the seat, at the farthest available table he had found.

"I want to order number six and a glass of wine."

The woman wrote everything down and left promptly, leaving Taehyung with his mind racing. 

"Go ahead, man" Kim heard someone say, and when he looked up he saw the employee – who was no longer wearing the establishment's uniform – being pushed next to him by someone he thought was his friend. 

"Hm..." The boy smiled embarrassed and waved. "Good evening, Sir."

Taehyung smiled openly, he wasn't in such a bad mood as in the morning when he met him.

"Aren't you working right now?" Kim asked, looking at him from head to toe, making the boy's cheeks flush pink.

"No, Sir."

"In this case, just call me Taehyung" Kim smiled even bigger when he noticed the brunette looking calmer with the small opening he had given him.

He approached and sat down in front of him, his dark eyes shining because of the ambient lights.

"So, Taehyung" the boy smiled sideways. "Have you solved your mystery yet?"

"I wish" he thanked the woman who served him the glass of wine and made mention to her to do the same with the boy who promptly accepted. "I feel trapped. If I don't give some good enough proof to my boss tomorrow morning, the case will be filed."

"And then the fun ends..." He murmured, his voice becoming less sweet than usual.

"Usually, it's just like that. Fun. But this is personal and I need a clue." He turned his glass on his lips and asked the woman to leave the bottle on the table.

"It's that case everyone is talking about, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Your sister was a good person" he said, his voice sounding different from other people who wished him condolences. "As I could see in the newspapers."

The boy was silent and so was Taehyung. He was surprised that – for the first time – someone talked about Jisoo without mourning her death.

"She didn't do that if that's what you think" Taehyung didn't know why he was saying that, but he didn't want the boy to think his sister had killed herself "Someone did it to her after she returned to the dorm at 4a .m."

"How do you know it was at 4 a.m.?"

"That's what the system reported when I asked for her entry and exit data from when she entered the dormitory that night."

"The cameras didn't film anything?" He asked.

"No, they were turned off that night. Actually, they were out of system during all that week due to a renovation to the building, and this is just another proof that it was premeditated."

"So how can you be so sure she was the one who entered?" 

Taehyung looked confused and a little angry at the boy, he had just said the security systems recorded the entrance and exit of each student, there was no need for cameras to confirm something so simple.

"It was like I told ya."

"I get it, but it's just-" he cleared his throat, as if he wanted to show Taehyung he wasn't slow. "Look", he extended his cellphone to Kim, who faced a photo of a code without any expression. "This is my QR code to get into my college dorm".

Taehyung waited for him to continue.

"What I mean is, some people use cards, some use passwords, and some use QR codes like me. All I have to do is print the screen after entering the site with my data and scan it on the gate to enter the dorm."

"I know how it works. How old do I look to you?"

"Twenty-one?" He leaned his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm twenty-four."

"I'll turn twenty soon" he smiled and took back his phone "anyway, what I'm trying to say is that anyone can get my QR code and the system will notify that it's me even if it's not. I'm saying this because my best friend has mine and I have his, for when we want to visit each other and stuff". 

Taehyung finally got what the boy meant.   
If KU's system was like the brunette's, then there was a chance that someone had hacked his sister's data, gotten her QR code and entered before or after her.

If this was true then the system should notify that she entered twice but didn't exit at all.

Taehyung opened his eyes wide, his mind was working non-stop, several new hypotheses arising in his mind. 

All this time he could be around false or incorrect data, and he couldn't believe he had let such a silly detail go unnoticed. 

"I think I just accidentally helped you" the brunette smiled and Taehyung blinked coming back to reality "Am I going to be rewarded for that?" 

He finally turned his eyes from the boy's face to his hand, which was now under his. Kim's palm was slowly caressed by the boy's warm fingers, giving him a pleasant feeling.

For sure, if he was in some other situation and taking care of a different case, Taehyung would throw everything up the air and postpone his findings until later, only to have a good fuck with a guy who he didn't even know the name.

Which the name he really didn't want to know.

His dates didn't last more than one night. He didn't have neither the time nor the mood for such a thing.

Also his popularity was too big, attracting enemy looks to his close ones.

Taehyung remembered to investigate every person who could hold a grudge against him and kill his sister, but most of them had a perfect alibi:

They were all in jail.

The brunette bit his lips slowly, showing Taehyung just by the way his body reacted to Kim, he was into him. 

But Taehyung had no time for flirting, he thanked the boy and rushed to his car, on his way to the police station knowing that his boss was on duty that night.

He had good enough proof to prevent the case from being filed. At least for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just de beginning, but... You liked? 
> 
> I will post more soon. Sorry for the delay :(
> 
> Stay with me and this story 🙏🏻 
> 
> ~~ see ya  
> 


	3. One step behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Hope you enjoy this episode!
> 
> Favorite and comment, please.
> 
> P.S: Those responsible for the translation are 2wams44 @LyviaStyles, @artaegikookz @DoadoradeHistorias all the credits for translating belongs to them.

Against his will, Taehyung was on his way to KU with Jimin, the intern. 

He liked to work alone, but after bringing some new information to Yoongi, he was able to avoid the filing of the case 121. But on one condition, though:

A partner. Yoongi wanted Taehyung working with a partner and no one better than the quiet and dutiful intern. 

In order to avoid people walking in on the investigation, they arrived on campus while the classes were still going on.

It was back to the drawing board, starting over now that he knew he had been basing the investigation on wrong data.

Time stamps were always the most important thing in cases like that, so he needed the documents with the check ins and outs of students that day as soon as possible.

Getting in with Jimin at the student’s dormitory lobby, he was immediately welcomed by a handsome young man, who offered Taehyung his hand and smiled.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Kim” he said, and Taehyung glanced at the name tag on the man’s shirt pocket.

Kim Seokjin. 

“Hi, I would like to ask you another favor”

Seokjin smiled and agreed, opening the door so both detectives could go inside. Taehyung was glad for Jimin’s silence as the Park merely listened carefully to the conversation between the other two. 

“I’ve been investigating and found out that if someone that is not a student has the access card, they can go inside the dorms, right?”

“Hum...yes” Seokjin frowned, confused by the question “but there is no reason for the students to swap their cards, they each have it’s own and it would be a risk if they were monitored going out after curfew, they would have problems”

“I see, but what if a student goes in and another swipes the same access card, how does the system register that?”

After a few minutes of silence, Seokjin just walked to his computer, typing a few things and turning the screen so Taehyung could see.

“If a student goes in the dorms, the date and time are immediately registered here” Seokjin pointed at the screen “And if they try to use the same access card more than once, it would be blocked because it needs to be used to go out before going back in again. You have to go out before going back in, there is no other way, detective” 

Taehyung agreed, he had already assumed that, and it wasn’t a good answer. 

“I understand, thank you” He took a few steps back and then turned “Could you send me the data from the day Kim Jisoo was found dead?”

“Sure” agreed the older Kim, smiling sideways. Taehyung just nodded as he moved away from the lobby, now with more questions than before. 

∆

Jimin felt tired of standing still for so long doing absolutely anything.

With one last message to his boss Yoongi updating him on their whereabouts, he threw himself on the lawn in front of the woman’s dormitory building. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, confused as to why Taehyung was so intently staring at the building.

“I’m counting” Taehyung answered without moving his eyes from the construction.

“Counting what?”

“The windows” 

Jimin knew that in moments like this, the best was to not say anything. Allowing Taehyung to sit down by his side, Kim took off his beret and glasses, sighing. 

“Shouldn’t you count the side windows too?”

“I don’t need to”

“But isn’t your sister’s room on the side?”

“Her ‘old’ room, you mean” Taehyung stared at the other, who agreed “There is no need for that” he raised his hand and pointed the other buildings “All buildings here are built exactly the same, the men’s dorm for example has the same amount of windows on each side, you just need to count one side and then multiply by four”

“I understand, but why count the windows, though?”

“If the killer didn’t use my sister’s access card, then he got in through the windows”

“But there are railings on the windows of the first two floors” answered Park, confused.

“Yes, I’ve thought about that too. Which means that..” Taehyung stopped talking when his eyes found a red haired head not too far.

Kim got up and hurriedly walked to the girl who was going inside the dormitory building, watching her saying her goodbyes to her friends after having attracted her attention.

“Hi, Taehyung” she said offhandedly.

“Hi” he smiled sadly “can we talk a little bit?”

“I already told you everything I know” her eyes filled with tears “please don’t make this harder than already is”

“Lalisa” he said, trying to make his tone of voice more delicate, soothing “I just want to find answers”

The girl grunted, crestfallen and finally agreed, stretching her hand out for him. 

“Give me your cell phone, I’m going to put my number in it. Call me tomorrow morning so we can talk during lunch”

“Great!” said Taehyung, passing his phone to her, and watching the girl punch in her number quickly, waiving and then leaving. 

“Was that Jisoo’s old roommate?” Jimin asked and Taehyung agreed “She wasn’t redhead before”

“No, she wasn’t” and Kim could feel his chest tightening.

People were changing and moving on while Jisoo would forever be the nineteen-year-old brunette who commited suicide. It wasn’t fair, she needed a more enlightening closure so Taehyung could move on as well. 

Taehyung dropped Jimin off at the police station and held out his notes to him.

“Put this in my drawer” Taehyung said and the blond agreed “see you tomorrow”.

∆

“How did it go?” asked Hoseok as he concentrated on cutting pizza slices.

“Not that good, something is still missing and I don’t know what it could be”

“Maybe she went out after going in and then the killer got in?” Hoseok asked and Taehyung denied.

“Then she wouldn’t be able to go back in”

“Ok, then the killer went in through the window?”

“That wouldn’t be possible because then someone would have seen it and the security cameras outside were all working, it would have caught it”

“It’s very unlucky that the security cameras inside weren’t working that day”

“A big coincidence, that’s what it is” snorted Taehyung.

“And how did you manage to deduct that someone else used her access card?”

“When I was talking to the coffee shop employee he gave me the idea”

“The one with pretty legs?” the redhead laughed and Taehyung shrugged “What’s his name?”

“I don’t know, didn’t ask”

Hoseok frowned, confused.

“You didn’t look at his name tag?” 

“Name tag?”

“Yes, his coffee shop name tag, if he works there shouldn’t he be using one?” 

Yes, he should be using a name tag just like the woman who served the table that same night when he talked about the access cards. 

“He wasn’t wearing one”

“Does he really work there, then?”

Kim didn’t want to think about the topic anymore, too busy trying to figure out how the killer got inside the building without being seen by the security guards or cameras. 

It wasn’t long after dinner and saying goodbye to Hoseok that Taehyung’s phone started to vibrate, making him grab it with a confused frown while looking at the screen.

[23:45] unknown:   
I think I have the answers to your questions.

What the hell did that mean and who was sending him this?  
Lying down on his spacious bed, Taehyung stared at the message for a few moments, wondering if it was suitable to answer or not. Having received tons of anonymous messages from people who claimed to know who the killer was, people mocking his sister's death and false leads, that he thought this could be those kinds of messages again. But he doubted it, though, seeing as the case was practically forgotten. 

[23:50] you:  
Who are you? How did you get my number?

[23:51] unknown:  
I saw you this morning, but I don’t think you noticed me.

[23:51] you:  
Stop bullshitting me.

It felt like hours until the unknown number answered.

[00:00] unknown:  
You can call me Jeon. Jeon Jungkook.

Taehyung didn’t know anyone with that name, and he could easily figure out by turning his computer on, but he was tired, and there was always the possibility of being an alias. 

After all, who would willingly give out their real name to a detective like Taehyung just after saying they had answers to the case he was working on?

[00:02] you:  
And to what kind of answers are you referring to?

[00:05] Jeon Jungkook:  
You know what kind, I’m just not sure if I should give it to you this easily, you don’t seem like the type who says thanks or gives out rewards.

So that was it, the person wanted something in return.

It was too dangerous to hand over something for what could be a false lead.

But it was already very odd that the man managed to get his contact.

Could Taehyung trust him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm anxious, so tell me your opinions if you can.
> 
> See you soon, thx <3


	4. Clues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those responsible for the translation are @LyviaStyles, @agustdaevil @ComoOoceano and @44Wams . All the credits for translating belongs to them.

[00:20] you:  
“What do you want?”

It was so silent in the bathroom that Taehyung could hear his own breathing and the drops that fell from the tap and when the answer finally came, he couldn’t avoid frowning on confusion and curiosity.

[00:21] Jeon Jungkook: 

“Fun”

[00:22] you:

“I don’t get it. What do you mean?”

[00:23] Jeon Jungkook:

“Look… I think it’d be better if we talk about this in person, what do you say?” 

[00:24] you:

“The answer is no. Don’t take this bad but I don’t know you, it wouldn’t be very smart from me to meet somebody who came out of nowhere.”

[00:25] Jeon Jungkook:

“Always cunning, isn’t it Taehyung?”

Kim smirked, the longer this Jungkook spent answering his messages, the faster he would be able to track his location. 

Because that’s what he was doing at that moment, after turning on the computer and connecting his phone to the device.

The name given to him could be fake, but the IP was real.

[00:26] you:

“My job requires this from me JK”

[00:26] Jeon Jungkook:

“JK? I like it”   
“We’re getting closer now. Isn’t it nice?”

Taehyung rolled his eyes, irritated by the courage and audacity of the person behind those messages.

[00:27] you:

“Don’t delude yourself so quickly, honey”

“I was just lazy to type your name”

[00:27] Jeon Jungkook:

“Ok, I confess I feel slightly hurt now”

“But I’ll give you more time to think it over. You’ll accept my help in the end, I know that”

[00:28] you:

“And why do you think that? I can do this on my own”

[00:29] Jeon Jungkook:

“Because you need someone to see this case with other eyes” 

“And yes. I know you can solve this case by yourself, but it’s taking a while, isn’t it? And I believe that you don’t want this case to end up being filed like it’s about to be” 

How did he know that? - Taehyung thought, irritated with the truths he had just read. 

Yoongi had told him that, and even he himself had already come to that conclusion. He was too emotionally involved in this investigation. He needed someone from outside to help, but not a stranger.

An unknown who had his phone number and knew about the filing.

He smiled when the computer finally ended the search and gave him an address of where the IP from the phone that was sending him messages was. 

It wasn’t far away from the center of Seoul, it was in one of the streets known for the expensives buildings. 

He wrote down the address quickly and closed the notebook, feeling tired.

[00:30] you:

“All this talk made me sleepy and you haven’t offered any information good enough for me to start to think about accepting your help”

Then he turned off his phone, not wanting to be disturbed during his sleep.

∆

Taehyung woke up in a bad mood once again, took a quick shower and put on comfy clothes under a huge jacket.

He needed to think better, ignore his usual tactics and use other methods to figure something out.

Just like in the old times.

He entered the crowded coffee shop due to the time and sat at a table near the window where he could watch the people passing by.

Monotony always made him reflect in a more logical way.

“Aren’t you going to hide in the back today?” Heard a sweet and playful voice caressing his ears and turned his face, finding the big dark eyes of the pretty legged employee.

He smiled and shook his head in denial with smarts eyes looking for something that could indicate the employee’s name. 

A blond and short girl passed in front of them with the same uniform of the coffee shop, where a small name tag hung on her chest with her name.

“I just want a coffee today, no surprises, please” Taehyung said, still smiling and thinking about the reasons for the absence of the name tag on the boy’s uniform. 

Unlike the other employees, he took longer than usual to write down the orders and his clothes were more cleaner and well ironed than the others.

He could be the son of the owner or just more careful and worried with his clothes and handwriting or maybe…

“How long have you worked here?” Taehyung asked, as he watched the boy put two sugar cubes in his coffee. 

“A week and a few days, sir” He smiled, trying to look embarrassed, but Taehyung knew he was anxious and surprised.

“That’s what I thought. Do you do photography college?” The detective asked, drinking carefully the hot liquid smiling sideways when the young boy opened his eyes wide. 

“H-How do you know?”

“Your face told me this. More precisely, your eyes” He bowed his head, enchanted with the way that the employee was becoming more and more surprised and scared. 

This always happens and Taehyung never got tired of it. His ego was grateful. 

Taehyung had an extraordinary facility to read people, their actions and craze. He could do that with anybody if he wanted to, but he didn’t do it very often, he liked to be surprised sometimes. Although his brain often just analyzes someone automatically without his permission.

The boy looked around a bit anxiously and then bent towards taehyung. 

“ I need to attend the other clients, but wait a minute because I definitely want to know how you found out about this.” 

“I didn’t find out anything,” he smiled, sipping his coffee. “If you finish serving the clients until I finish my coffee, I’ll wait, if you don’t, then I’m sorry” 

The brunette hurried up to serve everybody quickly and sat down in front of Taehyung five minutes later. Kim had already finished his coffee but he pretended to do so the moment the owner of the big eyes sat in front of him.

“Just in time” He joked.

“Look, I know I flirted with you that day, but being a stalker isn't very nice” he started, making Taehyung give a small smile. “Then just tell me what you want so that I can refuse and you can get out of here”

“This almost hurt me,” Kim joked. “But I’m not stalking you, I don’t even know your name. Like I said before, your eyes told me so”

“How?”

“While I was thinking about the idea of you being a new employee, since you don’t have a tag name yet, I had time to notice other things”

“What things?”

“The way that you move around and set some things to stay better positioned” Kim pushed the cup to the side.

The brunette didn’t say anything although his body expressions made it very clear to Taehyung that he was uncomfortable with his talking.

“You have small dark circles and marks around your eyes. Just like your forehead has some marks too, because you frown and force your eyes too much” Taehyung passed his fingers under his own eyes, indicating where the boy’s marks probably were in him. “But they wouldn’t be so evident if you didn’t do this often, like it was an exercise, and that took me to the conclusion that you like photography”

“That’s so… weird”

“Not actually, I just observed you well”

“But how did you know I do photography college? It could be just a hobby”

“You showed me your QR code that night and told me that you used it in your college dorm,” he shrugged. “I just merged the informations” 

“You’re really good at what you do…” he muttered “Why haven't you solved the case yet then?”

“My analysis aren’t solid evidence, the law works in a different way, which makes things harder”

“I see...and did you get anything with what I told you?”

“Not really. I thought someone might have used her access code, but I was told that it’s not possible for someone to get in with the same code for a second time before the exit has been registered. 

“So she couldn’t get in if the murderer had used the access code before her?”

“Yes, but…” - Taehyung stopped.

He had thought about the possibility of the killer having to enter from somewhere else, but what if he was already in her room when she arrived? What if in fact the recorded time was from when the killer entered and not her? 

“If she couldn’t enter…” Taehyung murmured, his head working while the boy stared at him in silence “She would have to-”

“Ask the security” replied the employee “ to release the entry”

“Yes, but the security guard I talked to said that he hadn’t seen her that morning”

“Morning? You didn’t say that the system informed her entry at 4 a.m?”

“Did I?”

“Yes, in the night we talked” replied the boy.

“Anyway, maybe she used someone else's code”

“Or maybe the security who was there during the night wasn’t the same in the morning” he said and Kim agreed.

“Yes, that makes more sense” he got up, letting a fifty thousand wons note on the table. “Keep the change, this is my way of thanking you” the detective smiled and the boy faced the money without any emotion.

“Actually, I would like another kind of thanks” he spoke softly so that only Taehyung could listen and Kim smiled when he noticed the malicious expression in the boy's eyes.

“I can meet you tonight…”— Taehyung left the following words hovering in their minds and the boy smiled sideways, agreeding. “Where do you live?”

The employee stood up and shrugged, walking away from Kim.

“You have my address, I’ll be waiting for you at eight”

Before Taehyung could say anything he heard the horn from Yoongi's car sound from the outside and walked to his car.

“What were you doing?”

“Nothing important, just talking”

“Ok…Do you have any plans?”

“I do have one now. Get Jimin and leave us at KU”

“Ok, then…” Yoongi agreed, starting the car

∆

“Sorry, But I’ve been working here for less than a year, detective” answered the security guard that Taehyung knew not to be the same one he spoke to two years ago.

“Where is Mr. Choi?” Kim asked Seokjin who was next to him.

“He was transferred a little over two years ago,” Said the other Kim. “We had some problems with him”

“What kind of problems?”

“He was letting the students in without the access code”

“And you are telling me this just now?!” the detective said, irritated.

“You didn’t ask anything about this before” Seokjin argued.

“I need his number or the address of where he works now”

“I’ll provide it” Seokjin said, leaving. 

Jimin and Taehyung were sitting on the campus benches while watching some students run around. 

“Taehyung!” He turned when he heard Lalisa’s voice and waved “I have some time right now, what do you want to talk about?”

“That day… You said that you and your friends left Jisoo in front of the dorm, right?”

“Yes” the redhead agreed, sitting at the table. “Choo never really liked parties, she stayed with us for a while and then she said that she wasn’t feeling very well, so Jennie and I took her to the entrance of the dorms and then we returned to the party.

“Can you tell me if you were being followed?”

“As I told you before, there were many students outside the campus, drinking, dancing, making out or going back to their rooms. But no one was being suspicious”

“Jisoo wasn’t drunk, right? No chemical component was found in her blood”

“I already told you she didn’t. She never drank. It was pretty rare, she used to say she liked to have control over her actions”

Taehyung agreed in silence. He knew his sister well and she wasn’t the type to get drunk or distributed her access code to her room. 

His Choo wasn’t like that.

“I know that, but I’ve been thinking…” he stood up and stayed face to face with Lalisa, making the redhead blush and look away. ”Was she able to enter her room normally? Didn’t you see her talking with any security or…?”

Lisa stayed a few seconds in silence until she opened her eyes big and agreed with her head.

“I didn’t see her talking to anyone because we left right after, but she was complaining about losing her phone that night”

Taehyung felt a thump hit him in the back of the stomach and even Jimin who was in silence all this time stood up, staring at the girl.

“Wasn’t she with her phone?” 

“No, she wasn’t”

“I wasn’t found in her belongings either, sir” Said Park.”It wasn’t in her room or in her locker.”

Taehyung sat down, biting his nails anxiously.

Jisoo indeed needed to ask the security guard for permission to enter.

But the question was:

Who got to the room first? 

There were no fingerprints, there was nothing.

“Who was the security guard working that night?”

“ I think it was Mr. Choi,” She said, looking at the watch in her wrist. “He is Minho’s dad.”

“Minho?”

Lalisa smiled sideways.

“Yes, he is like… the guy every girl wants” she gave an embarrassed laugh. “His father always let him in the girls dorm to visit his ex-girlfriend” she put a finger on her mouth asking Taehyung to keep secret. “He couldn’t do that, but Minho just wanted to meet his girlfriend.”

And at that moment, Choi Minho had just been added to the detective’s list of suspects.

“Somebody who had a free pass to get in and out.” Kim murmured to himself.

“Taehyung!” Lisa complained. “Minho is a nice guy, you’ll like him, he would never hurt Choo, they were good friends.”

“Jisoo never talked to me about someone called Minho” he replied.

“Did she have to? Come on, you’re not her father!”

“In which building does he study?” 

“Building C, he does scenic arts but he didn’t come today”

“How do you know?”

Lalisa laugh.

“How would I not know? He is Choi Minho”

Taehyung rolled his eyes and said goodbye to Lalisa.

“Get information about Minho at the reception with Seokjin, I’m leaving.”

“Who will give me a ride?” Park complained while he walked away.

“Call Yoongi”.

“He would never come here!” the intern protested.

“Talk to him in your sweet way and he comes running.''Taehyung said, smiling when he noticed Park's red cheeks.

He got in the car and got away as soon as possible from the place that only brought to him bad memories. 

It was almost eight when Taehyung parked in front of the coffee shop with his silver convertible and through the big windows of the place we could see that the employee was no longer there.

He frowned, confused and decided to get out of the car.

He wouldn’t take the boy to his apartment, a single fuck didn’t give a free pass to the boy to enter his house, even more so when he didn't even know his name.

He smiled at the attendant of the place.

“I know it sounds weird, but I was wondering if you could inform me where one of your employees lives… We’re friends and-”

“What’s the name?”

“Pardon?”

“The employee's name?”

Taehyung laughed, nervously.

“I don’t know.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and turned around, leaving Taehyung alone. 

How wonderful! He thought and sat at the closest table while thinking what he should do.

A fuck shouldn’t give him such a headache.

He could just go to his apartment and sleep, but he wasn’t that heartless as to leave the boy waiting for him.

He was about to bribe the attendant when he heard a voice sound coming from the kitchen door.

“ Did Jungkook already leave?” A deep voice screamed and the blond attendant agreed, distracted. 

“Yes, he said he had a date”

“Really?”

“Yes, he seemed very excited”

Taehyung bit his lip, irritated, and went to his car, typing the address in his GPS, feeling that the night would be the opposite of what he had planned. 

Jeon Jungkook.

He was the fucking coffee shop employee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thx all! Please coment, I need know if you're like it


	5. Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those responsible for the translation are @wams44 @LyviaRo2831, @artaegikookz @DoadoradeHistorias all the credits for translating belongs to them.

Taehyung slowed down the car's speed as the GPS informed him to be near his destination.

He didn’t know how he was feeling at that moment, afterall he didn’t even know the boy, or rather, Jungkook. Anyway, he still didn’t like the idea of being made a fool. The boy had told him he could help, and in fact he did give Kim some good ideas about the investigation.

But he was not reliable.

As soon as Taehyung stopped in front of the huge building he sighed in frustration.

Certainly someone who lived there shouldn't be working in a coffee shop as an attendant.

The boy wasn’t in the gate as he said, so Kim just parked near there and got out of the car, placing his hands inside his coat’s pocket due to the cold breeze.

“Hm… Hi” he said shyly to the janitor who seemed more interested in his playboy magazine. “I’m here to see Jungkook and-” the man finally raised his eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Taehyung, Kim Taehyung” he said, shaking his body so he could ward off the cold.

The janitor smiled and picked up the phone and after receiving permission, he opened the gate for the detective. 

“He’s on the 5th floor, apartment number 121”

“Thanks…” he glanced at the name tag over the man’s well-done uniform “Kim Namjoon”

The janitor smiled once again and Taehyung walked away quickly, signing as he got rid of the cold weather.

As soon as the elevator stopped on the 5th floor and taehyung stood in front of the door, he felt a chill running down his spine but he couldn't tell exactly why.

With watchful eyes, he analyzed every single detail of the hallway and knocked, hearing the sweet voice coming from the other side.

“Hi” Jungkook smiled sideways as he opened the door and made way for Kim to enter.

Taehyung took a few slow steps forward, wondering why he didn’t bring his gun with him.

“You seem disappointed” the boy mumbled, offering a glass of water to Kim, who declined right away.

That room… Taehyung couldn’t deduce anything about the young man. It was almost empty, except for the two chairs in the kitchen and the small armchair near the window.

“Do you really live here?” He asked, confused. There was no indication that someone lived there at all.

No shoes in the doorway, no clothes, no smells, furniture or portraits. Nothing.

“No, I live in my college dorm as I told you” answered the younger, approaching the armchair and asking Kim to sit down while he himself stood near the window. “I know you might be wondering how a guy like me owns an apartment in a place like this” he smiled slowly, drinking from the glass of water.

“Indeed”

“It’s because of my parents, they never liked the idea of me having to share a room with someone else, so they bought me this apartment, but i don’t use it very often” he shrugged, looking around without any signs of affection to the place. “I like to stay in the dorm with my friends, and I like to have fun as a normal student”

“Who are you anyway?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me that, Sir” He smiled sideways, his dark eyes meeting Kim’s browns. “Don’t you love to brag about your tricks?”

“How did you get my number? Why did you send me those messages?” Taehyung stood up, getting close enough to Jeon to make him feel his warm breath caressing his lips. “That’s what I want to know”

Jungkook laughed as he looked away from Kim’s stare that seemed to burn his skin.

“I got your phone number by looking at the coffee shop clients data, you’ve got a record there” he shrugged. “And I sent you those messages because I have an offer”

“An offer?”

“Yes, look” he laughed awkwardly. “I don’t have answers to any of your questions, it was just a way of getting your attention, but I can help”

“What can a photography student do for me?”

“More than you can imagine, Sir”

“Stop calling me that” Taehyung walked away, taking the glass out of Jungkook’s hand and drinking the rest of the cold water.

“Taehyung,” the boy continued, not even a bit scared by the serious look he received from the detective. “when I saw you at the coffee shop for the first time I knew who you were, and I only got close because I thought that maybe the two of us could help each other.”

“Help each other?” Kim frowned.

“I have to turn in a project at the end of this semester, I have to tell a story through photography and it’s not as easy as it seems. So when I saw you there I thought ‘why not?’” 

“You want to tell a story about me?”

“Don’t be so narcissistic” he smiled mockingly.

Taehyung frowned, irritated and confused.

“I want to tell your sister’s story. Jisoo is her name, right?” Kim agreed in silence, feeling a stabbing pain in his stomach just by listening to his sister’s name. “Precisely, about the case”

“And in return you’ll help me in this case? I don’t wanna be rude but you’re not a detective, you don’t have much to offer to me”

“I’ve helped you keep it open, didn’t I? Or are you gonna tell me now that it wasn’t because of what I said that it hasn't been filed yet?”

He had a point, but Taehyung wouldn’t humiliate himself in front of a kid like Jungkook.

“I’m telling you Taehyung” the boy got close to Kim, sitting on the edge of the armchair. “You need somebody to see this case from another point of view, a deeper one. My photos and my suggestions can be more useful than you think”

“How did you know I had your address?” Kim changed the subject while thinking about whether it was appropriate to let a student be informed about the case 121 or not.

“I’m not an idiot, I’ve always been aware that if I got in touch with someone like you saying what I said to you… well, you’d obviously find a way of track me down”

“You could’ve gone straight to the point instead of playing these games”

“Then what would be the fun?” Jungkook stood up and put the empty glass over the sink, Taehyung didn't even notice when the boy took it out of his hands.

“Did you really intended to sleep with me just to get a college project done?” he couldn’t help it, his tone of voice showing how he disliked the boy’s attitude.

Jungkook shrugged

“The smarts run the world” 

Taehyung laughed and got up, going to where his shoes were. He wanted to leave that place.

“Don’t be so sentimental” Jeon smiled sideways. “I really didn’t mean to have sex with you, I just wanted to lure you here. Everyone has limits, hyung”

“Yeah, you’re right” he opened the door but stopped as he felt Jungkook’s firm hands holding his elbow.

“So you accept it?”

“I need to think over”

“Alright” he moved away. “You know where to find me”

Kim just agreed in silence and hushed to the elevator, and passed straight to the janitor who greeted him. Taehyung got in the car quickly and started it, accelerating and then moving the farthest from that place.

∆

“Jeon Jungkook?” Yoongi asked while busy sending reports of the other cases he had just received. “Who is this?”

“A photography student.”

“Would you rather have a teenager helping you than Jimin?” he frowned and stopped what he was doing to face his friend.

“Jimin is also a student” Taehyung replied, irritated.

“Yeah, but he’s graduating this year and is already finishing his internship here at the police station. It’s different.”

“That’s the reason why I need someone else’s help. When he graduates he’ll be assigned to work somewhere else.”

“Who said that?!” Min asked, suddenly angry.

“Nobody, but isn’t this what always happens?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and put the paperwork aside, bending over the table.

“I already assured him that when he graduates he can work here, and there’s no reason for you to put a photography student in this case. And say you want to help him with his college project, that’s just not you”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you don’t care about others, Taehyung”

“That’s not true!”

“Really?” Yoongi raised his eyebrow, challenging Kim who just shrugged.

Maybe it was a little true, but not completely.

“And how do I know this guy is reliable? We can’t just go out passing on all the information from the case like this” 

“I won’t do that, he’ll only photograph what he thinks is necessary and come along with me in the investigations, he wouldn't need to know everything.”

Yoongi sighted, tired.

“Right, but if something happens to this boy the responsibility will be all yours”

“Alright”

∆

“I need you to bring me a document from your college about this project or some statement from a professor.”

“Don’t you believe me?”Jungkook sat in front of Kim, looking around to make sure he wouldn’t get scolded by his boss.

“Honestly? No”

“Ok, I can bring it tomorrow” the boy answered, getting up right after.

“Why do you work here if your parents have money?” the detective followed him around.

“I like to have my own money”

“Aren’t they the ones who pay for your college?”

“I have a scholarship”

“I get it… See you.”

∆

“I got in touch with Minho this morning.” Jimin entered Taehyung’s office and gave him some papers. “He agreed to talk to you, as long as he can have a lawyer with him.”

“Why would he need a lawyer? Only if he’s hiding something” Kim murmured.

“I thought the same, but agreed to it.” the intern sat next to Taehyung, observing him writing down on his board. “What is that?”

“Statistics” 

“Statistics of what?”

“Many things” the detective mumbled, connecting some pictures with a red ribbon. “I’m still reviewing after all, everything this case was based on was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“After listening to all the interrogations again I’ll need to remove some suspects.” he put some pictures in a paper shredder machine.

Jimin reached over to get a picture that was marked by several red ribbons.

“Lisa? Why?”

“Many reasons...” Taehyung took the picture from Park's hands and pinned it on the board, doing the same with the receptionist Seokjin and the young Minho.

Jimin frowned, confused by the reason for the three to be there, but before he could ask anything to Kim, he gasped when he noticed the newest picture pinned with the other three.

“W-who is this?” He got closer to Taehyung, who was pinning his own sister’s picture on the center.

Jisoo smiled as she was sure she had a bright future behind her.

And she really could have had.

“Jeon Jungkook” 

∆

Minho and his lawyer were a few minutes away from the Police Station.

Taehyung didn’t know where to start. He researched about the young man’s whole life and found nothing really valuable.

He was just another pretty face.

Kim thought about calling Jungkook to follow him during the interrogation, but he wasn’t sure he should take such a big step.

After all, Jeon would only hand him the documents about his project the next morning.

The detective looked at the board on his office wall out of the corner of his eyes. The possibilities hammering inside his head.

After Jimin had left, he put two more pictures on the board, but then took them down, still uncertain if he was on the right track. He didn’t want to pick a fight.

Taehyung sat in front of his office desk and kept looking at the pictures over the drawer, the questions still on his mind.

Everyone deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt, right? Even his work mates.

Then finally, he took Jimin and Yoongi pictures and put them into the paper shredder machine, getting rid of the weight in his heart.


End file.
